With fictional worlds come fictional alcohol. But not just alcohol that's bad for you in the usual ways — bad for you in the "this will kill you if you drink it" kind of ways. These are drinks bartenders need hazmat suits to prepare and serve. »1/28/15 12:40am 1/28/15 12:40am

A great story has lots of layers, and a rich backstory. When you only see part of the picture, you might reach a snap judgment about what's going on — but then you see events from years ago, that make you rethink everything. Here are 10 flashbacks that turn your understanding of a story upside-down. »12/29/14 10:25am 12/29/14 10:25am

Slayer fans, beware - you might have gotten all excited at the news of Fox remastering Joss Whedon's classic TV series for HD formats, but prepare to be disappointed. Turns out that all is not well in Sunnydale when Fox butchers the show to cram it into a 16:9 format. »12/16/14 5:00pm 12/16/14 5:00pm

Science fiction and fantasy are full of characters who seem useless, good only for weak comedy or weaker "audience identification." But it only takes one great "fuck yeah" moment to change a character from "waste of space" to "all-time favorite." Which character annoyed you, until they suddenly revealed how badass… »12/08/14 2:09pm 12/08/14 2:09pm

Some heroes bare their souls in the midst of their epic adventures. And some heroes just bare, well, everything. Science fiction and fantasy is full of hilariously weird moments of naked truth — and here are the 19 funniest nude scenes of all time. It's work-safe! »11/14/14 10:16am 11/14/14 10:16am

Science fiction and fantasy television has produced plenty of bizarre or terrible episodes. But sometimes, an episode isn't just bad, it's world-breaking — because it introduces plot holes or character traits that would kill a show. Here are 10 episodes that everybody had to pretend just didn't happen. (Two of which… »11/12/14 10:00am 11/12/14 10:00am

A stake has one job to do: Stab your errant blood-sucker right through the heart. So while it might look the part, this plush Mr. Pointy from Buffy The Vampire Slayer might not be the most useful thing to have on hand if you find yourself Van-Helsing-ing it up this Halloween. »10/28/14 6:19pm 10/28/14 6:19pm

Once upon a time, most fans of genre television series were blissfully unaware of who was working on those shows from behind the scenes. But nowadays, fans are hyper-conscious of who produces their favorite shows, and quick to blame newcomers for any missteps. What changed? Here's the history of fan backlashes… »10/14/14 12:43pm 10/14/14 12:43pm

In 2002, it looked like we might get a Buffy the Vampire Slayer animated series, but it ultimately never materialized. This animated intro imagines the cartoon series we never got—and it's jammed with Buffy Easter eggs. »9/23/14 2:40pm 9/23/14 2:40pm

We love happy endings. In fact, a big part of why we devour stories is to escape from reality, where endings are by definition unhappy. And a really wonderful happy ending can make you turn your bullshit detector all the way off. Here are 10 somewhat contrived happy endings we can't help falling in love with. »9/03/14 9:29am 9/03/14 9:29am

The "writers' room" of a television show is a magical place , where creativity flows and awesome ideas are generated. But how do you keep "the room" happy and focused? Some of the top showrunners, including Joss Whedon, share their secrets in this exclusive excerpt from the book Showrunners. »9/02/14 12:49pm 9/02/14 12:49pm

There is a plague of remakes sweeping across the land right now. While some remakes are decent or worthwhile, a lot of them are pointless at best and travesties at worst. And a lot of them are clearly terrible ideas. Here are 10 movie remakes we are overjoyed never got made. »8/14/14 10:00am 8/14/14 10:00am

The greatest heroes and villains of science fiction and fantasy live on in our hearts and minds, long after they've left our screens. That's often thanks to actors who really invest in these characters — to the point where the stars want to keep the stories going, too. Here are 10 science fiction and fantasy… »7/18/14 11:21am 7/18/14 11:21am

Pop culture is a never-ending source of wonder and amazement. We're seeing some really top-notch, innovative writing across every medium right now. But there's also a lot of tired, warmed-over stuff, that feels copy-pasted from script to script. Here are 20 screenwriting moves we'd be happy never to see again. »7/16/14 10:00am 7/16/14 10:00am

When TV shows and movies do flashbacks, they face a dilemma: They can cast a younger actor that looks like their star, sacrificing easy recognition, OR they can just slap a wig on their actor. They usually go with the latter, with... mixed results. Here are the best and worst of flashback wigs. »7/10/14 1:45am 7/10/14 1:45am

I was recently re-watching "Becoming, Parts 1 and 2," those Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes where geeky witch Willow does a spell to give the vampire Angel his soul back. And suddenly I had a burning ethical question. »7/08/14 4:51pm 7/08/14 4:51pm

Stunt casting is a long tradition in science fiction and fantasy, but it's only gotten more common lately. Films and TV shows will cast a famous actor — or someone who used to be in a Joss Whedon show — to spark interest. Sometimes, it's just unnecessary. But here are a bunch of cases where it was the perfect casting. »6/05/14 9:00am 6/05/14 9:00am

Imagine if Buffy the Vampire Slayer had become a puzzle-solving video game in the vein of Maniac Mansion or Day of the Tentacle. Artist Andrew Scaife gives us screencaps from that imaginary game, placing us in a pixellated version of Sunnydale. »5/06/14 10:40am 5/06/14 10:40am